


Casualties of (Snow) War

by ArtemisRayne



Series: Winter Wonderland [2]
Category: Alice (TV 2009)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Christmas, Christmas Fluff, F/M, First Meetings, Fluff, Meet-Cute, Snowball Fight
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-16
Updated: 2016-12-16
Packaged: 2018-09-08 22:55:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,086
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8866666
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ArtemisRayne/pseuds/ArtemisRayne
Summary: Alice Hamilton has never been fond of winter, and her opinion isn't likely to change when she gets caught in the crossfire of a neighbourhood snowball fight.





	

**Author's Note:**

> I don't even know. Someone stop me. The Christmas fluff is taking over.

Alice Hamilton had never been a fan of the winter. Snowstorms in the city never ended up looking like the beautiful Thomas Kinkade paintings that they always showed in the movies. Anytime they got more than a quarter-inch of snow, everything in the city would slow to a standstill. The already terrible traffic turned even worse, and the sidewalks were slippery, with puddles of dirty sludge making walking anywhere treacherous. Not even the cheery glow of holiday lights could make it more bearable.

Bundled up in layers of winter gear, Alice made the usual trip back from the dojo. She enjoyed the walk any other time of year, finding it an excellent way to cool down after the hours of intensive workout. In the winter, it was a minefield. She dodged aside as a bus pulled up to the kerb and sent a wave of slush spraying toward her ankles.

Alice burrowed her hands deeper into the pockets of her coat and turned the corner. She just wanted to get home and changed into her pyjamas, with a cup of cocoa and some of her mom's sugar cookies. She figured she deserved a little downtime, at this point. It had been a rough year for her, between things with her father and the whole situation with her now ex-boyfriend Jack, but that was over now. Her lessons had officially finished until after the new year, and she had two full weeks to enjoy herself.

Something struck her hard in the back of the head, and Alice stumbled forward with a yelp. She slipped on the icy pavement and barely got her hands out of her pockets in time to catch herself from going face-first into the concrete. A wave of startled voices sounded behind her, kids frantically hissing at each other, before another voice rose above them all.

"Gods, you okay?"

A hand lighted on the small of her back, the other taking her arm and helping her back to her feet. "M'sorry, love, really didn' mean to getcha," her helper was saying as she brushed the sludgy snow from her clothes. There was a charming brogue to his voice, something far out of place in Queens. "Was aimin' for Annie but she's a wee speedy thing, she is."

Alice straightened up and found herself staring into a pair of warm brown eyes. She blinked and took a step back, putting a more acceptable amount of space between them. He was slightly taller than her, with a halo of hectic brown hair peeking out from beneath a straw porkpie hat. There was a smattering of freckles along his cheekbones, standing out all the more boldly against the cold winter flush. When he met her gaze, he offered a small, lopsided smile.

"You a'right?" he asked, giving her a quick once-over.

Frowning, Alice reached back to touch the throbbing spot on the back of her head and felt clumps of snow in her hair. There was already a damp patch, cold trails running down the back of her neck. "You threw a snowball at me," she said, glancing up at him indignantly.

The man looked surprised at the comment, but he at least had the decency to look slightly abashed as well. "Well like I said, was aimin' for her," he said and pointed behind him. There was a cluster of young kids in the play yard, the coat-bundled masses watching the interaction with varying degrees of trepidation from beyond the safety of the little chain-link fence. "She's faster 'an I gave her credit for." Alice didn't miss the proud grin that flashed across one of the little girl's face.

"I'm okay," she finally answered. She could feel the cold spots where the slush had soaked through the knees of her jeans and her gloves, and her palms were stinging from the impact. The snow sneaking down the back of her coat sent a chill through her, and she wanted more than ever to get home and changed.

"You sure?" the man asked. "Didn' give you a concussion, did I? Wha's ya name?"

"Alice," she answered, distractedly shrugging to dislodge a bit of snow from between her shoulders.

"Right, Alice," he said. "And wha's ya number?"

"Four-two- _wait_ ," Alice broke off midway, scowling up at him. "My number? Really?"

The man grinned sheepishly. "Was worth a shot," he said, rubbing the back of his neck. "Really, though, I am sorry fer the snowball. Can I a'least make it up to ya?"

"I'm fine, really," Alice said, brushing aside his hand and taking another step back. Something in her wanted desperately to trust him, and that terrified her more than anything.

"Well, look," the man said, and he drew a wallet from his pocket, "I own the tea shop jus' 'round the corner there. You come in anytime an' you can 'ave anythin', on the 'ouse." He pulled out a business card, dug a marker from inside his jacket, and hastily wrote a string of digits on the back before handing it to her. "Me number, in case it turns out ya did get 'urt. Ya know, insurance purposes."

Alice eyed him suspiciously, but she couldn't fight the slight curl of lips brought on by his eager confidence. "I'm pretty sure that's only for car accidents," she said.

The man shrugged. "Betta' safe 'an sorry, yeah?"

"Hatter! You gonna come play?" one of the kids shouted plaintively, and a chorus of pleas immediately followed it.

"Sorry, love, duty calls," he said, grinning. "Should be gettin' back 'fore there's total mutiny. Come by the shop sometime?"

Alice surveyed him thoughtfully for a moment. "I'll think about it," she said and gave him a teasing smirk. The man beamed and tipped his hat playfully before turning away. He vaulted the small fence and the kids scattered, screaming in mock terror as they scrambled for shelter. Alice watched for a moment as he was immediately pelted by no less than a half-dozen snowballs, then she turned and started for home again.

Flipping the card over in her fingers, Alice read the front. A quirky violet font displayed the name ' _Hatter's Tea Shop'_ across the top, with decorative teacups at the corners. Below that was _David Hatter; owner._ Alice bit her lip as she turned the card over to read the string of numbers on the back.

Maybe winter had some good things to it as well. After all, cold weather was the perfect time for a nice, warm cup of tea.


End file.
